It's Monday, I am on early shift and decide to change one of our room areas to a baby caring center. We have two little girls in our room who recently became big sisters to brand new little sisters and I wonder if they would need or want to have access to some baby play.
I put out some baby beds, blankets, diapers, some food bottles and of course, some babies. I also add in some medical kits wondering if any friends would like to take care of the babies if they get sick.
A co-worker extends that play even more, by adding in band-aids and gloves and some other first aid items.
As educators we can only offer play materials based on our observations and provide and take away items as we see the play evolve. My role, I believe in creating environments it to prompt thinking. We can never tell what anyone is learning at a given time, but we can see if they are thinking. I recently read that idea on Teacher Tom's blog and I agree with his thoughts. He shares that when Dr. Denisha Jones spoke on his podcast, she said she doesn't like the word "guide" or "facilitator" to describe the adult role in a play-based environment. Our job, she says is to be "present, to observe, to step back. It's not child-centered, it's child driven".
In the Early Learning Framework we read that "within a pedagogy of listening (Rinaldi 2001, p. 80) educators create environments in which both adults and children can reflect, investigate, and be provoked to deeper understandings".
So I am thrilled one day, when a little friend is very deep into baby care play. I feel privileged to observe her focus and attention in caring for and feeding her babies. I actually enter the play mid-way as it is a co-worker who is observing her initially. My co-worker tells me the play starts with A placing a baby into the highchair and then wanting to buckle the baby in and needing some support with that. She goes and gets the baby food bottles that I had made available, and feeds her baby. She then, goes and gets another baby, places it into the other highchair and feeds that one too. She says, "more" and uses the sign for more. I offer her a spoon and bowl, wondering if she needs them in her play. She takes them from me.
She decides to move the babies to the table and that is when I enter the play as an observer.
It seems very important that the babies get buckled into their chairs. She focuses on getting the buckle right and takes a long time to insert each side. This is requiring concentration, perseverance and fine motor skills.
She looks like she's ready to feed the first baby but then decides to buckle the second baby.
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